Sérgio Mendes Early career
When did his career begin?
When did Sérgio Mendes' career begin?
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil.  Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.  Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio.

Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place.

Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada".

Biography

Early career
Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil.

Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.

Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963.  He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua.  The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S.  When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union.  Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio.  The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol.

Brasil '66

All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales.  Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese.  Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'"  Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records.  Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract.  Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M.  Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun.  Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben.

The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured.

The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar.  This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill.

Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group.

Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970.

Middle career
Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing".

In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again.

By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums.

Later career

Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch.  It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records.

The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas.  The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart.

He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy.

Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel.

Discography

1961: Dance Moderno (Philips)
1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records)
1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips)
1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic)
1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic)
1965: Brasil '65  (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol)
1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic)
1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M)
1967: Equinox (A&M)
1967: Quiet Nights (Philips)
1967: Look Around (A&M)
1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M)
1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic)
1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M)
1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M)
1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M)
1970: Live at the Expo (A&M)
1970: Stillness (A&M)
1971: País Tropical (A&M)
1971: Giorno (A&M)
1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album)
1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M)
1973: Love Music (Bell)
1974: Vintage 74 (Bell)
1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra)
1976: Homecooking (Elektra)
1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra)
1977: Pelé (Atlantic)
1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra)
1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA)
1979: Magic Lady (Elektra)
1980: The Beat Of Brazil  (Atlantic)
1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M)
1984: Confetti (A&M)
1986: Brasil '86 (A&M)
1989: Arara (A&M)
1992: Brasileiro (Elektra)
1993: Oceano (Verve)
1999: Matrix (Concord)
2006: Timeless (Concord)
2007: Encanto (Concord)
2009: Bom Tempo (Concord)
2014: Magic (Okeh)
2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord)

Awards

Academy Awards

Grammy Awards

Latin Grammy Awards

References

External links

Official website
Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008
"Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006.
 The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012.
"Sérgio Mendes."  The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008.
 July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record

 
1941 births
Living people
20th-century Brazilian musicians
20th-century pianists
21st-century Brazilian musicians
21st-century pianists
A&M Records artists
Atlantic Records artists
Bossa nova pianists
Brazilian jazz composers
Brazilian jazz musicians
Brazilian jazz pianists
Brazilian male composers
Brazilian record producers
Brazilian songwriters
Capitol Records artists
Concord Records artists
Grammy Award winners
Latin Grammy Award winners
Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Latin jazz pianists
Latin music composers
Latin music record producers
Latin pop pianists
Música Popular Brasileira pianists
Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city)
People from Niterói
Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members
20th-century jazz composers
21st-century jazz composers
Gypsy: A Memoir is a 1957 autobiography of renowned striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, which inspired the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable. The book tells Lee's true life story in three acts beginning with her early childhood days in theatre when she toured with her sister, June Havoc. The book ends just as Gypsy has gotten on a train and is headed to Hollywood to begin her career in the movies. Her Hollywood career was short lived and she did not get many roles. The roles she did get were so small that at one point she wanted to be billed under her birth name, Louise Hovick.

The first edition was published by Harper in 1957. It is now available in a 1999 paperback reprint.

1957 non-fiction books
American memoirs Ze'ev Binyamin "Benny" Begin, (; born 1 March 1943) is an Israeli geologist and politician. He is a member of the Knesset for New Hope, having previously served as a member for Likud and Herut – The National Movement. He is the son of former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin.

Biography
Ze'ev Binyamin (Benny) Begin was born in Jerusalem to Aliza and Menachem Begin. He studied geology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After completing his undergraduate and graduate studies, he worked for the Geological Survey of Israel. He completed his doctorate in geology at Colorado State University in 1978.

Political career
First elected to the Knesset in 1988 as a Likud MK, Begin ran in the Likud primary in 1993 to succeed Yitzhak Shamir as party leader but was defeated by Benjamin Netanyahu. Under Netanyahu's government (1996–1999), Begin served as Science Minister until 1997 when he resigned in protest against the Hebron Agreement.

He subsequently led hardliners out of the Likud with the hope of reviving the Herut political party founded by his father. With full support from former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Herut – The National Movement departed from the Likud and joined other right-wing parties to form the National Union, an alliance opposing the Oslo Accords. Owing to the National Union's poor showing in the 1999 elections, Begin resigned his seat and quit politics. He resumed his career in science and education, and was appointed Director of the Geological Survey of Israel.

Begin announced on 2 November 2008 his return to politics and the Likud party, as well as his intention to seek a place on the Likud list for the 2009 elections. He ultimately won fifth place on the party's list, and returned to the Knesset with Likud winning 27 seats. Netanyahu had promised Begin a ministerial position if Likud won the election and honored that promise by appointing Begin a Minister without Portfolio in the new government.

Begin did not run in the 2013 elections, but returned to politics in the 2015 elections running on the 11th place on the Likud party list, the spot reserved for a candidate appointed by party leader Netanyahu. Following the elections, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the new government. His term with the government lasted only eleven days. After Prime Minister Netanyahu convinced Gilad Erdan to join the government as Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Begin was forced to resign as Likud's coalition agreement limited the party to 13 ministers.

Benny Begin officially left Likud and joined Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope party on 21 January 2021. Begin was placed sixth on New Hope's list for the 2021 elections. He gained a seat in the 24th Knesset as New Hope won six seats.

Views and opinions
In an interview with Haaretz in 2009, Begin explained his opposition to a Palestinian state, proposing instead an Arab autonomy under Israeli control, since "without security control in Samaria, Judea and Gaza there will be no security in Tel Aviv, either." He concluded with his belief that we must "live together with people who do not want us...[and] behave humanely and decently both with the Israeli citizens who are not Jews and with those who are not citizens. Is there a contradiction between my nationalism and my liberalism? I believe that this is a day-to-day effort to which I and he is obligated."

On 3 March 2019, Begin said that he was "deeply troubled" after reading the Israeli attorney general's 57-page document detailing the suspicions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Begin was one of the few members of the then governing coalition to support the attorney general.

Personal life
Begin is married, and had six children. One son, Yonatan, was a fighter pilot with the Israeli Air Force who was killed when his F-16 fighter jet crashed in 2000. Another son,
Avinadav is a writer, and has become a social activist, out of a general anti-nationalist ideology. He was engaged in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

References

External links

Thoughts of a National Liberal: an interview with Benny Begin - Fathom Journal

1943 births
Living people
Children of prime ministers of Israel
Colorado State University alumni
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Herut – The National Movement politicians
Israeli geologists
Israeli Jews
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Leaders of political parties in Israel
Likud politicians
Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)
Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)
Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)
Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)
Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019)
Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–present)
New Hope (Israel) politicians
Politicians from Jerusalem